Coaling apparatus.



W. F. HUNT. COALING APPARATUS. APPLICATWN FILED MAY 15. 1914.

Patented Sg t I I L lnvg t PFC.

WILLIAM F. HUNT, OF NEW BRIGHTON, NEW! YORK.

COALING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 15, 1914. Serial No. 838,624.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Brighton, county of Richmond, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coaling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

The present invention is illustrated and described as embodied in coaling apparatus, but as this description proceeds it will be evident that the invention is not to be limited to the character of the material handled, coal being selected for the purpose of this disclosure for the sake of convenience and as typical of the material in the handling of which arise certain problems. In transferring coal from a source of supply, as for instance, a car, to another point, it is desirable to prevent breakage of the lumps of coal and pulverization thereof to as great a degree as possible; In preventing this breakage, care must be taken that the coal is not subjected to sheer drops of any great extent. The improved apparatus shown herein is constructed and arranged to bring. about a continuous flow of the coal on itself, from one point to another, and to prevent any considerable free fall of the coal, thus preventing the breakage which always occurs when the flow is intermittent. In accomplishing the general purpose of this invention which is, as indicated above, to prevent the breakage of the material, means are provided in combination with the coal carrying devices for regulating at all times automatically the position of the mouth of the discharge chute with respect to the pile of the material discharged, so that, as the height of the pile increases the mouth of the chute will be raised and thus maintain at all times a substantially uniform discharge area. In this way, it becomes impossible for the coal to flow intermittently by reason of the con stantly changing discharge area, permitting first a relatively slow flow and then an abnormally rapid flow. This automatic control of the discharge area is facilitated greatly by another feature of the present invention which resides in providing the mouth of the chute with an irregular edge, so that a graduated opening is secured as the chute is raised with respect to the top of the coal pile. willpermit unusually large lumps of coal to This graduated opening.

flow therethrough while the other portions of the discharge area remain just sufficient to permit free flow of the average sized lump of coal. In carrying out the invention a sloping chute is arranged with its upper end near the coal to be shifted and with its other end directly over the upper end of a vertically disposed telescopic chute. The first named chute is provided with devices for adjusting its angulzrity with respect to the second named chute so that the rate of flow may be controlled at all times. The second named chute is formed of a plurality of conical sections flaring outwardly from top to bottom, so as to insure a free and uninterrupted fiow of the coal therethrough. The upper section of this flaring chute carries deviceswhich are acted on by the coal within the chute to control automatically the position of the mouth of the chute with respect to the pile. The devices referred to may take widely differently forms, but in the embodiment illustrated they serve to control an electric hoist, this hoist operating to raise the chute against the action of a weight which is carried by the chute.

The invention willbe described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which the figure represents a complete apparatus embodying the present improvements, all of the elements thereof being shown in side elevation, except the weight which is shown in vertical section.

The coal to be discharged may be supposed to rest at the point indicated by the reference character a and flow therefrom into an inclined chute 5, supported partially by cables 0 extending to a suitable Windlass, or the like, (Z, whereby the angular position of the chute with respect to the horizontal may be varied by the operator to control the rate of flow. The lower end of the chute 7) may be disposed directly over the hopper e of a sectional chute composed of a series of telescopic sections, as e, f and 9. These sections may be of any desired shape and area, although they preferably flare from top to bottom along their longitudinal axis to facilitate'the free flow of coal therethrough. In the illustrated embodiment, it may be supposed. that the sections are tapered slightly and arranged to telescope one upon the other. The lower section 9 may carry thereon a circular weight g of concrete, or the like, for a purpose to be hereinafter pointed out The lower edge of the Patented Sept. 18, I917.

- tion 9 may be dished from side to side, or

it :may 'be provided with a scalloped edge, or it may have an edge of some other ir regular outline, the result soughtto be obtained by this irregular edge being a graduated opening through which thecoal may pass as the section is raised from the top of the hea'p it.

'During the use of the apparatus thelower sectlon or sections of'the chute are raised and lowered to malntaln a reasonably uniform "head in the hopper e by a suitable device controlledbythe accumulation ofcoal inthe hopper. As shown, the lower section has secured'to it, asatg cables '70, which are connected to a hoist i. The latter is shown as comprising ane'lectric motor and it is proposed to control the circuit of this motor through a switch Z and terminal m,

= the switchland contact m preferably being mounted on a suitable skeleton frame 0 fastened to the mouth or hopper'c of the upper section of the sectional chute. The

lower arm of the switch Z is arranged di rectly in the path o fthe coal flowing from the inclined chute lb into the telescoping tubes, while the upper arm of'the switch is,

of course, arranged'o-ut of the way of the coal.

, In operation the coal flows through .the chute b and sections 6, ,f and g, to-the pile it, the lower edge of thesection 9 being held in contact with the pileby "the weight g.

It will bee'vi'dent that the flow of coal at the start willcontinue untilthe chute is filled to-the top, the spread of coal-adjacent the base of the chute being relatively slight.

' v Whemthe coal .begins to fill up the flaring mouth or hopper e of the upper section e it will abut against the weighted switch Z andmove the same until itsupper arm is in contact with-the terminal m. The closing of this contact servesto set the holst z in operation and the cables are wound on the usual winding drumto an extent sufficient to raise'the lower section '9 from the .pile .andpermitaffreer flow of coal-from under the lower edge of said section, such freer jflowservingto lower the level of the coal-in the hopper e of the upper section 6 and perme; the switch Z under the influence of gravity,-ornother suitable actuating means,

to move to aposition where its upper arm is but of contact with the terminalm at which time, operation of the motor will cease. Theldrumof the hoist is nowfree, so that the weight on the lower telescopic chute now causes said chute to settle into the,pile of coal..and:impe'deor reduce the. rate of fiowat the Lbottom of the chute to an. amount less =cordance with the V the pile.

than the rate offlow intothe'hoppcr of the telescopic chute. The upper hopper now fills again, whereupon the'operation descrlbed above will be repeated, the net result being that during the operation. of the improved apparatus thefiaring chute is kept substantially: balanced or floating so thatauniform balancing of the flaring .c'hute in the illus- 'trated embodiment isaccomplished through the tendency of the motor 2' to raise the lower section and the counteracting tendency of the weightgto holdthelower section'in contact with the coal heap.

In the accompanying drawing \many of theparts of the apparatus areillustratediin g a purely conventional manner inasmuch as it will be evident tot-hose skilled in the art that such parts will find a wide range of, equivalents and the l advantageous features of the invention still be realizediby the.-sub stituti'on of such equivalents. Whilemany' of the desirable e'fiects secured are referred to in the specificationit shouldbe emphasized here "that the invention is primarily addressed to the provision of devices for automatically controlling the area offdischarge openingso 'astoinsure a tconstant and uniform flow of coaluponitselff I'claim asmy'invention: 1

lfApparatus for transferring coal including a chute disposedin a substantially vertical position and having'its ilOWGI' end provided with agraduated opening for the discharge of the material. r

2. Apparatusfor transferring coal includ ing a chute, means operable automatically to raise the chute whenthecoal riseswithin the chute to agpredetermined height, and

.means tending, to hold theflower edgeof the chute 1m proximity to-the .top of the pile, whereby the chute changes position in .ac change in r the height i of 3. Apparatus for transferringcoalinclud-' ingca chute,.mea11s controlled by the .coal

and operable thereby -whenthe coal rises.

' within the chuteto .a j predetermined height to raiseautomaticallythe chute-in accord- .ancewith the change of elevationof-the" pile.

4. Apparatus for transferring coal including a chute composed of a series of itelescop- .in'g tubes, means to raise the secured thereto to hold the lowereedgein proximity to the coal pile, and devices oparable by the coal When the coal rises Within the chute to a predetermined height to control the means for raising the chute, whereby the latter is caused to change its position automatically in accordance with the increase in the elevation of the pile.

5. Apparatus for transferring coal includ ing a chute composed of a series of telescoping tubes, hoisting cables attached to the lower section of the chute, a hoist for operating said cables, and means to control the operation of the hoist, said means being controll'drb y the coal in the chute so that as the amount of coal in the chute increases, the hoist Will be operated to cause the lower section of the chute to be raised automatically in direct substantial accordance With the increase in the elevation of the pile.

This specification signed and witnessed this 12? day of May, A. D. 1914.

WILLIAM- F. HUNT.

Signed in the presence of- W. B. GREELEY, AMBROSE L. OSHEA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0." 

